THE LIBRARY

The heart of the Kollegium is its library with 125 000 books. Guests may use the 35 000 reference books, the 65 000 works of world literature - usually available in the original language as well as in translation - and 25 000 non-fiction books around the clock.

The library of the Kollegium is worldwide the first and largest specialist library for literary and non-fiction translators. It has reference works in nearly all languages and dialects (from Afrikaans to Zulu) and from all fields and periods.

In addition to monolingual and polyglot encyclopaedias and general dictionaries, there are a large number of reference books for specialist terminology (encyclopaedias of literature, Bible and song concordances, dictionaries of specialist terminology, word lists ranging from the art of hunting to Christian seafaring, argot, slang, jail and youth language, theatre and opera guides, mail-order catalogs in various languages, multilingual brochures about diverse products, and concordances to the works of significant authors and much more).

No one person can be at home in all cultures and all professions of the world. The plots of novels take place in all sorts of settings; their protagonists have all sorts of professions and hobbies. 
 

And thus the EÜK library has to be able to provide answers to such strange questions as "What is 'Rommel's asparagus'?", "Where is the Island of the Great Mother?" or "What are the names of the Seven Dwarfs?"

A priority for the Kollegium is to buy digital reference works and very expensive reference books that are usually beyond an individual's means. For in Straelen translators should find all those books that they dream of but cannot afford. 

The library of the Kollegium is open to the public by appointment.  

If you wish to have an overview of the EÜK library's resources before you come to stay with us, please let us know and we will send you the catalogue of our reference books in user-friendly Rich Text Format (RTF).